Wha’ happened?

It’s dawned on me that I need to explain: I’m not dead, sick or otherwise incapacitated. It’s just that the blog is on temporary hiatus until I get around to fixing a bunch of stuff.

Bunches of you have cleverly noticed that there hasn’t been a new post on this blog since November 2012. Must have seemed odd, because for the last seven years or so I’ve pretty much maintained a schedule of twice-weekly posts. (And thank you, thank you for all the nice expressions of concern and even the “watinell is WRONG with you, you slacker!” comments–I didn’t realize so many people followed this blog so closely)

I could simply say I’ve been busy (which would be true–I adore my job and work long hours at it, I’m still trying to maintain a glass practice, I’m also doing a bunch of blogstuff for other folk as favors, I’ve really gotten into this whole get-a-life thing with friends which takes an incredible chunk of time and I’ve picked up two new hobbies which I should probably have run screaming in the other direction to avoid), but the thing is, this blog is just too daggone big and that’s causing some technical issues.

There are roughly 1,100 visible posts on this blog…but almost four times that many behind the scenes. Some posts are private, meant for particular audiences, some have been pulled down because they’re outdated, some just didn’t work out. A little more than 700 are project records in various stages of draft–when I’ve finished with one, it’s published as a glass how-to.

Which is actually why I started this blog in the first place. I never intended for anyone to actually read the thing (except for me and maybe my family). Morganica was supposed to be a virtual doodle pad for writing, working out problems and conducting experiments in glass and sculpture, storing photographs and recipes, etc., etc., etc.. When I was done with something, I published it, so I could access it from other computers, my phone, or anywhere else.

That 6,500-plus people also wanted to read it was a (wonderful but) very unexpected bonus.

Just FYI, a blog is a fabulous way to record the steps you’ve taken in a project, especially if you include the names, prices and URLs of vendors who sold you supplies, and links to relevant websites. I probably have read my own blog more than anyone else. The casting resources page, for example, has saved me (and my lousy memory) more times than I’d care to count.

Problem is, my current site is having trouble handling nearly 5,000 separate posts with all the associated links, images, videos and other files. It’s become big, slow and unwieldy, and parts are outdated to the point that features I’d like to offer simply can’t be done. So eight or so months ago I decided to change direction:

Move to a more robust hosting service

Split this blog into three blogs: Glass, stories and a private collaborative space

Change a bunch of technical plumbing to improve performance

Migrate the whole shebang into the new setup

Great idea, but it’s turned out to be a much bigger job than I thought. I’m hoping to have everything online soon…but soon is realistically turning out to be “not before June.”

(this is the “how come she stopped” part) About November I discovered that the migration plans I’d made weren’t working so well, and every new post I added was compounding the problem. If I’d kept up my normal post rate I would have added another 60 or so posts…so I stopped.

And offer my apologies. Until the new site’s ready, this one continue to provide access to old posts, and there are bunches of new ones waiting in the wings on my computer. For now, if you’d like to keep up with quirks in my life, new glass projects and other stuff, please friend me on Facebook.

Or, to put it in plain English, folks: Ask first. This blog is first and foremost a personal journal, a chronicle of my work with a fairly difficult technical medium. I'm happy (thrilled, even) to share what I know, and I'll help you with your own journey all I can... as long as you respect my groundrules.

I don't sell ads, products or services, and unless disclosed I buy all products/services mentioned in this blog, with my own money. I don't claim to have invented processes, tools, new artforms, or techniques (unless I specifically say so). HOWEVER, my writing and art (and any errors of fact or fiction) are my very own, original work. Don't blame anyone but me if I get it wrong.